I took this on one of those days where I just wasn’t feeling it. That old habit, the one we all succumb to at one time or another, of not being able to see past one’s own nose was in full force. The screaming voices of negative thoughts were winning the day, resulting in me doubting any and everything about myself, enticing me to wallow in the strange warmth of self-pity.

I went out anyway and shot, then culled through the twenty or thirty frames to find this one image. I liked it, but it wasn’t until recently that I’ve come to value and appreciate it much more.

A conversation I had the other day made me realize that the inner strength one uses to get through adversity, do the things they enjoy, and be the person they want to be comes from deep within ones’ subconscious, deep within the soul. It’s the ‘quiet friend’, one who is the most dependable, but acts so subtly that you don’t realize the effect they’ve had until well after they’ve gone. Sometimes, you don’t see the power of inner strength while the adversity is at the forefront of your mind, but much later, after the storm has passed.